Fashion StartUp Contest launches a new edition in search of the next Spanish fashion phenomenon. Promoted by Modaes together with Mango StartUp Studio, Fashion StartUp Contest celebrates its fourth edition with the aim of being a platform for the dissemination of new projects, a learning space and a connection point between entrepreneurs, fashion companies, investment groups and other actors. Fashion StartUp Contest has the collaboration of EY, The Goose y Stomach Ventures and has the objective of highlighting the entrepreneurial dynamism of the Spanish fashion business and helping to discover and visualize new valuable projects in this industry.
Are you the next fashion phenomenon in Spain?
Fashion StartUp Contest 2024 ¡Preséntate!
Clemente Cebrián is the co-founder, along with his brother Álvaro, of the men’s and women’s fashion company El Ganso. Both brothers studied Business at Cunef and decided, in 2004, to leave their jobs to start a business in the fashion business and launch El Ganso. In October 2015, L Capital (today L Catterton) bought 49% of the company from the family. Clemente Cebrián was in charge of marketing and the company’s distribution network until January 2017, when he decided to leave the day-to-day running of the business to start again. However, Cebrián returned to the El Ganso organizational chart in November 2017 to take charge of the marketing area, while his brother Álvaro takes care of the product. In September 2018, the Cebrián family repurchased the company’s capital from the investment fund and Clemente Cebrián assumed the position of president of El Ganso and Álvaro Cebrián as CEO. Clemente Cebrián is also co-founder of Tintoremus, dedicated to the production of indigo. The businessman shares with Modaes his vision of what it is like to be an entrepreneur today compared to twenty years ago and the evolution of entrepreneurship in the fashion sector, with an eye toward a future marked by online and sustainability.
Question: What was it like to be an entrepreneur before and what is it like to be an entrepreneur today?
Answer: My brother and I set up El Ganso twenty years ago and at that time it was crazy to start. There was no online sales, no social networks and entrepreneurship was not as common as it is now. Now everything has changed. The current entrepreneurial spirit is creating things that are worthwhile and has greatly normalized entrepreneurship, which I think is culturally positive, although there is still much to do. The possibility of failure has also been normalized and it is understood that in the process of putting something together there is learning.
Q: Does the sector have a better reputation now than it did twenty years ago?
R: Reputation is changing. There have been times when the sector gained a lot of strength even in investment, but many of us tried to follow the model of opening stores and then, with the crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, it was shown that it was not the only way to dedicate yourself to fashion sale. Now there are new start ups sustainability and digital businesses that have gained prestige and are changing the way fashion companies are created. The physical store now, in addition to selling, must create an experience.
Q: For an entrepreneur who is starting out, what is a good financial companion?
R: You have to choose your partner very well, not just look for the financial part, but associate with someone who can help when there is a problem. It is important that it is someone you trust and think not only about the money, but about the additional value that the partner brings. The recommendation is to think long term, not short term, and above all that they believe in themselves and the project.
Q: In addition to financial support, what other support is important when starting a business?
R: The entrepreneur has to focus on creating value in the company, focus on that and surround himself with people who do the work that is not his. core of the business, but it is fundamental. Large teams are not needed, but very committed; both internal teams and external help.
“The entrepreneur has to focus on creating value in the company”
P: What does collaboration with start ups?
R: I think that the collaboration with start ups It contributes a lot to the brand. We collaborate a lot with emerging companies. Working with them is refreshing and when you work with start ups You realize that they are more flexible and more agile. Having a foot in that culture is very important for larger companies.
Q: And vice versa?
R: By collaborating with other brands they reach many more people directly and much faster. An ecosystem is created that feeds back and benefits both.
Q: What is the first thing you would say to someone who wants to start a career in fashion today?
R: Creating is very beautiful and you are contributing your grain of sand by doing something that did not exist before. If you’re going for it, do it 100%. If you make the decision you have to know that you are going to live through difficult times, you will make mistakes and there will be hard days but those days will lead to much better ones.
Q: How do you see the fashion ecosystem in the short term?
R: I think that little by little, companies run by young people are emerging that are succeeding and they usually do so by framing the companies in specific universes, for example, around the mountains or music. Fashion is becoming a lifestyle that makes people identify with the product, but above all with what brands communicate. More and more specialized brands are going to be created with a focus on sustainability.
Q: And in the long term?
R: It will increasingly be directed towards what we just talked about, that when a person buys a brand they identify with what that brand communicates. People want to know what’s behind the brands, to have them explained how things are made, to take traceability into account. Brand honesty will be sought more and more, for brands to be honest and transparent.
2024-02-20 04:06:33
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